Writing is not something that you can learn overnight. The knowledge itself is spread through writing and we have learned it from our ancestors. It started from some random verbiage on stones to scriptures and now we are at the peak of our civilization. That makes writing the most important part of our lives.
We are surrounded by writing as it is in the literature, science, education, and even leisure. However, writing effectively is not everyone's cup of tea. You might be able to write but what to write is something that is needed to be learned.
From maintaining the narrative, choosing the vocabulary, and creating your own writing style, there are tons of different factors involved that would make your writing good. If you are willing to learn how to write, you might have a goal set in your mind or you might simply be looking to get an effective way to be able to express your feelings.
Whatever your reasons might be, you need to have devotion, passion, and the will to keep ongoing. Writing gets better over time as you can gain experience so you can channel your thoughts and shape them into words easily. A good piece of writing is what your readers can imagine with the right narrative that you want them to have.
Since writing is subjective, you cannot just learn a style from anyone. However, there are some tips and techniques that you need to understand to be able to learn efficiently and you can learn them all with these online courses.
18 Best Writing Lessons for Beginners Review
1) MasterClass: Dan Brown Teaches Writing Thrillers
Thrillers are an important part of any literature. You can never have literature established on simple facts, figures, and historical events. This course helps you understand what a thriller is, with deep insight on the topic so you can grow your knowledge on the subject.
Dan Brown is the author of one of the world's best-selling novels, The Da Vinci Code. He has sold over 250 million copies worldwide and this course presents you an opportunity to learn from him all that it takes to write thrillers. This course will help you understand the methods that made him popular and how you can follow them in your unique style.
This course by Dan Brown is over 3.5 hours long and contains 19 video lessons. Each lesson covers a certain key element that is essential to learn how you can write thrillers. You will start learning with the anatomy of a thriller and have a whole idea in your mind.
Moving forward, you can learn about choosing locations, creating the right characters using some universal character tools, and more. The course also helps you with some cool techniques on conducting research to keep the realistic element and know-how to create suspense.
2) MasterClass: R.L Stine Teaches Writing for Young Audiences
You can write for any genre, but writing for a young audience is something that is a whole new world of possibilities and needs some extraordinary insight on the topic that is being covered in this course.
The course helps you understand how you can create audience-focused content considering their age. You will be learning all about what is needed to make young audiences attracted to your writing and keep their attention by creating a sense of relativity.
Apart from that, this course is all about his award-winning novel-writing career that will help you develop plots and develop some nail-biting suspense for young readers. This is an extensive course with 28 video lessons that span over almost 4 hours.
Over these 28 lessons by R.L. Stine, you are going to learn about developing unique and creative ideas and molding them to your style to have a significant effect on all your pieces. You will also be learning about plot twists and attention binding tricks in this course. The course focuses on the difference between writing for different age styles and how you can improve it significantly for young readers.
3) MasterClass: Malcolm Gladwell Teaches Writing
Malcolm Gladwell is known in the world of writing for his highly unique style that has captured a great audience over his decade's long writing career. This course is the first peek in his story writing style that will help you learn from the legend himself. You can be a fan of his writing style or simply want to learn how you can capture the attention of the audience, whatever your needs might be, you can find a solution with this great course.
With 23 video lessons spanning over good 4 hours and 54 minutes, you will get to learn a lot of techniques about researching the topics, crafting characters, and paying attention to the detail.
With the help of this course, you are going to learn about creating powerful narratives that will help you select and develop the story in your unique way. The course will help you captivate the readers' attention and get them to imagine what you want them to with the help of your words.
4) MasterClass: Judy Blume Teaches Writing
Judy Blume gained fame as a rule breaker for writing some of the controversial children's books that were banned by hundreds of libraries but also loved by generations of readers. Over her career, she pushes one's imagination to its limits to ponder upon the surroundings and seek answers to the questions that are imminent.
This course, the first time reveals her journey of writing through all these years that made her popular and gained millions of readers worldwide. This almost 5 hours long course will help you understand all about Judy's childhood so you can have a clear picture of her writing style in your mind and how she has shaped that to something extraordinary.
Also, you will be learning about finding the ideas, writing for younger readers, writing dialogue, creating characters, creating the plot structure, and a lot more over 24 video lessons in this course. This course will also help you prepare for working with editors and getting ready to submit your work.
5) MasterClass: James Patterson Teaches Writing
James Patterson is the name that needs no introduction. He is the author of 19 consecutive No.1 New York Times bestsellers. This is the first online writing class by him in which he doesn't only helps you understand how to write but also sheds a great deal of light on the tricks of the trade.
This unique course will guide you through the whole process of writing your book, getting it published, and having success through it in the right way. There are 22 video lessons in the course that will help you with the complete journey from a plot to getting a finished book.
The course will not only help you understand how to write but how to make it a best seller. This is the course aimed for those who want to rise above ordinary standards and settle for nothing less than the best. From converting your passion of writing to a habit to creating the right plot, starting a book, creating an ending, and getting the right title, whatever you can need, you will be getting in this course.
6) MasterClass: Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing
Margaret Attwood is also known as the "Prophet of Dystopia". Being the most influential literary writer of our generation, she shares the story about her lifelong journey of writing in this first exclusive online class.
With the help of this almost 4 hours long course, you can learn a lot of new techniques about writing that will enhance not only your writing skills but also polish your imagination, character development, and all the other aspects that are involved with creating writing. This course is essentially focused on those who are looking to go beyond the ordinary and want to fascinate their readers with words.
The course can help you master all genres from historical writing to fiction that would remain timeless and relevant for decades and centuries. With this course, you will be getting a deep insight into Margaret’s creative process that helps her develop ideas into novels. You will also be learning about her unique narrative and how you can use the knowledge behind that to shape your own signature style of writing that will impact your readers greatly.
7) MasterClass: David Mamet Teaches Dramatic Writing
David Mamet has his unique ways of finding inspiration for his work and that is exactly what he explains in this first-ever online course by him. You are in for a whole roller coaster ride for his experiences in life and learn how he got inspired by the events.
For instance, he shares a story about sitting on a poker game full of thieves and found inspiration for American Buffalo. You will get a deep look into now Pulitzer Prize-winner writer's life and his unique writing methods.
You will learn about finding the right inspiration as every event happening around you is unique and you can get an idea from most unexpected places at times. The course will help you shape your imagination and creativity to always be looking for inspiration in the world around you. Then, turn the imagination to a great plot with story and dialogues that will leave an impact on the audience and readers.
Furthermore, you will learn a significant deal of techniques to write dramatic writing with the right amount of suspense to keep the reader's interest. The course also helps you learn the purpose of drama and dramatic rules so you are aware of the game before stepping into it.
8) MasterClass: Billy Collins Teaches Reading and Writing Poetry
This is another cool course being offered by MasterClass that brings you a unique and once in a lifetime opportunity to learn from the living legend, Billy Collins. The course helps you understand the deeper meaning behind the poetry by one of America’s most beloved contemporary poets.
Also, you will learn to get the right emotional pull from poetry. The course is about exploring subjects, incorporating humor, and finding your voice. You will learn about not only reading the poetry but writing it too.
Poetry is a subject that comes from within and no amount of words or techniques can help you learn how to write it. However, the course with 20 video lessons can help you understand the writing process, channeling your creativity to words, and shaping them into a poem.
Lastly, you will also learn how you can find your voice and create a persona with words by this course. The bonus chapter that is my personal favorite as well covers the life journey of Billy Collings himself as a poet.
9) MasterClass: David Baldacci Teaches Mystery and Thriller Writing
While you can learn all the other genres over time, Mystery and Thriller's writing is a subject that is not that easy to master. That is why you need this course to help understand what it takes to get a grasp on the subject from the very expert on the topic. You are going to understand a great deal of insight on how you can capture the interest of your readers and keep them immersed in the story for the whole novel.
The course helps you understand the mental approach of readers and the ways that you can keep them craving for more of the story. With the help of these 18 lessons included in the course by David Baldacci, you are going to learn a lot of techniques that are used by the New York Times best selling author of 38 novels what it takes to create authentic characters, developing research-based plots, and navigate the world of publishing.
In addition, you will understand to create the clues and plot twists through your stories to enhance a reader’s experience and leave them wanting for more every time they close the book.
10) Udemy: Ninja Writing: The Four Levels of Writing Mastery
This is a course that is intended for not the beginners but those who can write and want to enhance their writing skills to take them to new heights. With the help of this course by Shani Raja, you are going to discover how to create spellbinding writing by extending your vocabulary and picking the right narrative.
You can turn your business writing blogs, books, and essays to masterpieces by learning the secrets of editors on top newspapers and websites. You can transform yourself into a master writer within days with the help of this course.
This course with 4hours on-demand video and 11 downloadable resources is perfect for Corporate writers, communication professionals, marketing executives, blog writers, students, journalists, and even technical writers. From word to paragraph and level, you can learn how to enhance each bit of your writing to create a masterpiece that will be appreciated and endorsed by your readers no matter what industry you are in.
11) Udemy: Writing with Confidence: Writing Beginner to Writing Pro
This is a highly efficient course being offered on Udemy by Clare Lynch. Being a pro copywriter/Cambridge University Writing teacher, she shares tons of secrets that can help you write like a pro and be confident about your writing. With this course, you will be learning all about finding your voice as a business writer or blogger.
You will be able to transform your writing to dazzling with a short period in this course and will not be able to stop once you have started learning. This course with 5.5 hours on-demand video, 32 articles, and 14 downloadable resources suits all the beginner writers who are not satisfied with their skills and want to grow these into something better.
Over and above, you will be uncovering the secret persuasion tactics used by the world's top copywriters over this course as well. You just need to have a basic grasp of English writing and all the tools are provided within this course.
12) Udemy: Better Busines Writing Skills
Mark Morris is one of the best speech writers out there in the industry and this course contains guidance for all those who are willing to try their luck in the field from the very best. You will learn the skills, tips, and tricks of persuasive writing from an experienced, professional speechwriter in this online course.
The course will give you a better idea to write clear, concise, and persuasive words to achieve your objectives. With the help of this 3hours long course containing 12 articles and 15 downloadable resources, you will be learning the tricks used by mark to be a productive writer and never suffer from writer's block.
The course also helps you structure your work for maximum impact. You will be learning about polishing your words, expanding your vocabulary, and a lot more with the help of this course. There are also some testing techniques included to make sure your work is as efficient as you want it to be.
13) Udemy: The Foundations of Fiction (Writing Mastery)
Fiction is but the imagination of writers channeled to words to help their readers get into the world that the writer has created. This course helps you master the 6 universal foundations that comprise great fiction and use them effectively to write fiction that would count.
You are going to learn about a lot of topics, techniques, and skills that would all be a great help for you if you are planning on writing fiction in the longer run. The course helps you construct the right plot that would be perfect to pursue a fiction story.
With the help of this 6 hours long course containing 31 downloadable resources, you will be able to structure masterful, gripping plots to keep your readers hooked so they can never have enough of the story. You will also be learning to create a signature narrative for your writing style that will keep your readers addicted.
14) Udemy: Writing Tools & Hacks: Copywriting/Blogging/Content Writing
While you can learn how to write, there are some unique and efficient hacks that make your content pop-out. This course by Tyler Speegle is all that you are going to need to get a grasp over these hacks, tools, and tricks to enhance your writing. This is a relatively short course but equally efficient to cover any important insight that you might be needing.
The course will help you write better and efficient by creating viral-ready headlines. You will be able to learn how you can capture and organize your content ideas and generate an endless amount of new blog ideas for you. The course is specifically designed for writers who want to take their writing experience to another level.
15) Coursera: Academic English, Writing Specialization
The thing about writing is that it has a never-ending scope. There are tons of topics, applications, and niches that you can use writing for. This course offered by the UCI Division of Continuing Education based on their curriculum and designed for online learning is the best thing that you can get your hands on to learn academic English. This will help you transform your writing skills and prepare yourself for college-level writing and research. All you need to do is enroll for this course and spend 6 months learning from this course.
The course is intended for anyone who is not a native English language speaker or for those who are looking to enhance their vocabulary, narrative, and writing style for academic purposes.
With the help of this course, you can excel in your career academically and professionally by attaining a strong grasp over the language that is fit for college-level writing and impress your professors. You will learn about clarity, attention to the detail, and academic formats so you can write any research papers, essays, or assignments with the right confidence. Upon completion, you will also be earning a recognized, shareable certificate.
16) Coursera: Creative Writing Specialization
This is another specialization in writing offered by Coursera with the collaboration of Wesleyan University that focuses on a totally unique niche of creative writing. The course will help you learn about writing stories and craft the right words using a perfect narrative like professional writers.
The course is over 6 months long, covering tons of skills including short story writing, fiction writing, creativity, channeling your ideas to words, capturing the interest of your readers, and even editing.
The core elements that this course revolves around are short stories, narrative essays, and memoir. These being the base of creative writing will enable you to try your luck with any form of creative writing confidently if you have mastered these correctly.
Not only that, but you will also be learning about drafting, rewriting, and completing a substantial original story in the genre of your own choice. The course is designed to help students grasp concepts and build a solid foundation for their creative writing so that they can be confident enough to play with words.
17) Coursera: Good with Words: Writing and Editing Specialization
Among all the courses that you can get from Coursera, this is one of the best and most diverse courses being offered by the University of Michigan. The course helps you understand writing, editing, and persuasion with the mechanics and strategy of effective communication. You are going to learn all about creative ways of using syntax, developing the right habits to complete long-term and short-term projects, tips to punctuate and paragraph like a professional, and a lot more.
The course essentially covers skills including creativity, writing, time management, and editing. The course is approx. 4 months with a flexible schedule so you don't have to push yourself too hard. No matter if you are looking to enhance your skills for academic wiring, willing to try your luck with novels or get into any other field related to writing out there. This course is undoubtedly the perfect choice you can get.
18) CreativeLive: Writing your Story by Joyce Maynard
With this website about tons of creative courses, you can get your hands on this exclusive course by Joyce Maynard that helps you understand the ins and outs of getting creative with words. The course spans over 26 HD video lessons and you get lifetime access to the course to be able to learn at your own pace.
With the help of this course, you will be learning about the tools that you need to transform your ideas into words by celebrated journalist, novelist, and memoirist Joyce Maynard.
The course covers essential skills including figuring out what is to be included and left out in your story, deciding the right point of view, stop worrying about being judged, and develop the arc of a sentence, paragraph, and a story in the right manner. The course helps you step-up your game by listening to the sound and rhythm of your sentences and how you can improve them by looking at them through a reader's perspective.
Choosing The Best Writing Lessons for Beginners
Writing is a field with a far wide scope than you can imagine. That is why we have tried to cover every possible niche of writing that you might be willing to learn online. You can go through the review and choose the perfect course for you that suits your niche, writing styles, and needs to learn it online.
Dan Brown’s master class is a thrill. I’m not a novelist, much less a thriller writer, but he’s such a great storyteller. It’s motivating and inspiring.
I also like Judy Blume. Interesting tips and ideas. I can see why her books might be questionable but she seems like a talented author to me.